Paul Wadell of St. Norbert College Will Lecture at the First Annual Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics

WACO, Texas (April 24, 2014) – The Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University will host a new annual lecture, the Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics, named in honor of Bill and Roberta (Hatch) Bailey for their family’s commitment to Baylor, Waco and the church.

The inaugural lecture will be given by Paul Wadell, Ph.D., professor of religious studies at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the Paul W. Powell Chapel of the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, 1100 S. Third St.

The Institute for Faith and Learning gives attention to Christian intellectual resources valuable to the work of scholars, teachers and students in the church-related academy and beyond. Some of its initiatives encourage reflection on the academic life as a Christian vocation, while others lend support to research projects inspired by a theologically shaped outlook.

The Bill and Roberta Bailey Lecture in Christian Ethics supports the institute’s mission in that it annually brings in a scholar to speak on ethical and moral reflection as it relates to Christian tradition, said Darin Davis,Ph.D., assistant professor of Christian philosophy and ethics in the George W. Truett Theological Seminary and director of the Institute for Faith and Learning.

Wadell’s lecture “Friendship with God: Embodying Charity as a Way of Life” will “explore how the Christian virtue of charity—loving God and others through God—is expressed through friendship,” Davis said.

“In a time where the language and practice of friendship can become trivial, Professor Wadell's lecture will help us understand how friendship with God and others is the way we realize who we are truly meant to be,” he said.

Wadell’s interests include the role of friendship in Christianity, and he has authored seven books in Christian ethics. He has spoken on the Baylor campus several times at Communio, the annual faculty retreat hosted by the Institute for Faith and Learning.

Wadell’s writing is admired for its “clarity, conviction, wit and grace,” Davis said. “He is rare, also, because he so winsomely communicates to both scholarly and lay audiences.”

For more information on this lecture, contact the Institute for Faith and Learning at 254-710-4805.

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.